CommunicationCommunication
What is a Symbol?
A symbol is an object used for or regarded as
representing something that is often something immaterial e.g. an emblem, token
or sign. Different types of symbols
are used for different purposes such as:
- Symbols on a map are used to show where
different things are at different places
- Symbols are used on different signs to show
different actions or things to do e.g. A sign with a big stop symbol on it means
to stop
- Symbols are used to advertise different
products e.g. symbols are used on food products to advertise different
information.
Symbols as a form of communication
Symbols I think are a very good way to
communicate because they can be used to show many different things such as
dangers, where things are and what things are used for.
I chose to talk about symbols because it is the most common way of
communication between the three subject areas (Mathematics, History and
Geography).
Use of Symbols in the Three Subject
Areas
Symbols in Mathematics
Symbols are used a lot in maths and they are
very effective because of many reasons, these are:
-
Numbers
are symbols in maths and they are the basis of maths
-
Symbols
are used to change numbers in mathematics e.g. a plus symbol communicates to the
person that those two numbers need to be added together
-
Different symbols are used to make certain things happen first e.g. brackets are
a symbol that tell you to do that part of the question first
Symbols in Geography
Symbols are used heaps in Geography
-
Geography uses a lot of symbols especially when using a map
-
All maps
should contain a key or legend, this should contain different symbols that will
tell you what things are on the map.
-
Symbols
are not only used in maps, but also when looking at different terrains e.g.
different colours (symbols) represent different heights and depths
Symbols in History
Symbols are used heaps in History
-
Symbols
are used in timelines e.g. to show different points along the timeline
-
Symbols
were apart of history e.g. 1000’s of years ago we had famous tribes who didn’t
communicate by speaking, but communicated by using symbols and writing on cave
walls
-
The
ancient Romans used symbols to represent different numbers, they also had
different base numbers
I think that these reasons are the main reasons
that Symbols as a form of communication are a lot more effective than other
forms that people use in Mathematics, History and Geography
These
are the different ways that symbols are used in the three subject areas, but you
might wonder if these symbols are actually reliable, I think they are because:
-
These
symbols aren’t very complicated but they are very effective and simple
-
Symbols
are normally easy to understand and they are very short instead of trying to
read or listen to something that is very long they can put it as a symbol
-
Symbols
are more effective than other ways of communication e.g. written and verbal
communication
How are symbols a more effective way of
communication compared to other methods?
I think that symbols are a lot more effective
than other methods for three main reasons:
1) Symbols are very plain and clear and don’t
really need to be explained to someone
2) Symbols don’t need to be prepared and don’t
cost a lot of money unlike technology as a form of communication
3) Symbols are very useful for simplifying
things e.g. instead of saying yes to someone you can put your thumbs up to
someone which communicates to them the same message
Just because the points that I have said are
all positive doesn’t mean that this form of communication is all good.
If we refer back to that quote “Communicating ideas effectively is hard”
then you will see that every form of communication has its downsides, for
symbols they are:
-
Symbols
can be misinterpreted easily because some symbols can have little changes to
each one making it confusing to tell one from the other
-
There
are a lot of symbols in the world that are used for languages, but because there
are so many, people might not know them all and get confused
